Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 800 metres
The men's 800 metres made its fourth Olympic appearance at the 1908 Summer Olympics. The competition was held on July 20, 1908 and on July 21, 1908. The races were held on a track of 536.45 metres= mile in circumference. It was run in two rounds, with the winners of the eight heats of the first round competing in the final. 38 runners from eleven nations competed. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes.
' unofficial 880 yards ' This track was 536.45 metres= mile in circumference. In the final Mel Sheppard set a new Olympic and a new unofficial world record, his time of 1:52.8 being 3.2 seconds faster than the pace set by fellow American runner James Lightbody four years earlier.
Results
Semifinals
The semifinals were held on July 20, 1908. The winner of each heat advanced to the final the next day, with all other runners eliminated.
Semifinal 1
Ashford went out fast, but tired quickly. The race was a tight match between Bodor, Butterfield, and Björn, each of whom led at times. Lightbody, the defending champion, was always close behind.
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
1:58.6
2
1:58.9
3
Unknown
4
Unknown
Semifinal 2
The second heat was less eventful than the preceding one, with Sheppard leading most of the way; Lintott closed quickly but was four yards behind at the finish.
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
1:58.0
2
1:58.8
3
Unknown
Semifinal 3
Halstead took the lead after 500 metres and held on to beat Lee by two yards.
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
2:01.4
2
2:01.7
3
Unknown
4
Unknown
Semifinal 4
Lunghi broke away from the pack near the end of the first lap, leading the rest of the way.
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
1:57.2
2
1:58.0
3
Unknown
Semifinal 5
The fifth heat was the closest of the first round, despite Beard leading the entire way. Buddo and Astley both made tremendous efforts to catch up in the second lap. Astley caught and passed Buddo, but was unable to do the same with Beard, who won by a foot.
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
1:59.8
2
1:59.9
3
Unknown
4
2:10.0
Semifinal 6
Just won by fifty yards.
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
1:57.8
2
2:06.0
Semifinal 7
Bromilow led for most of the race, but Braun used the last turn to move from third to first.
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
1:58.0
2
1:58.3
3
1:58.5
Semifinal 8
While not having quite the dominant lead that his countryman Just had in the sixth heat, Crawford won by fifteen yards.
Rank
Athlete
Nation
Time
Notes
1
1:57.8
2
2:00.0
3
2:00.0
4
Unknown
Final
The final was held on July 21, 1908. Crawford started out fast, leading by fifteen yards halfway through the first lap, but at the end of the lap, he collapsed on the track from exhaustion. Sheppard then took the lead, with Lunghi and Just immediately behind. The time at the 400 metres mark was only 53 seconds. Just could not keep up the pace, fading back to fifth place. Lunghi's efforts were not enough for him to stay with Sheppard the entire way, and Sheppard won by 11 yards; the first four finishers broke James Lightbody's Olympic record of four years earlier.
Charles Kilpatrick